Gentle way to lighten hair?

[StuckForWords]

I have typical English mousy brown/dark blonde. They kind that was blonde as a child but has darkened over time.

I'd light to lighten it, but I'm scared of bleach. Mainly because it's three and a half foot long.

It also has traces of red dye in it.

Any ideas?

Highlights , done in a salon

Don't they use bleach and make you look like Lilly Savage?

Not if you tell them not too !

Hit the bleach - you know you want to

Take in a photo of what you want.

Highlights done in a salon, with high lift tint not bleach.

The only way to lighten hair is with bleach ( or high lift tint - but this is essentially weak bleach). But done well it can look morvellous. It is worth doing some research and finding someone who is very good because it is all about the technique. I think Sarah Jessica P's hair is an example of good highlighting. Perhaps find her hair dresser . Seriously though it might be worth finding a pic of someone who has good highlights and showing the salon. Don't be scared!

Matrix v-light is a good lightener . It can even work on old dye and it isnt as harsh a old peroxide mixes .You will get a very blonde result with this.
Matrix colourgraphics is another good one , it might be a better choice if you want to lighten only slightly , and stay more natural. Its a toner mixed dye.

Both leave hair in quite good condition , last thing you want is straw hair .
Ask what salon uses .

If you dont want to dye/lighten your hair , but want it a bit blonder try this ...

wash hair with clarifying shampoo to remove any build up .
rinse until clear , rinse again with lemon juice , let dry naturally .
rinse hair again , condition .
if you do this repeatedly over time it will lighten dark blonde hair a little....but it can be a bit drying .

Highlights in a salon! Go somewhere decent, Essensuals or something will charge about £80 for a full head of highlights. If you get 2 different shades of blonde, one light and one a bit golden, it will look really natural. They usually put a deep conditioning treatment on afterwards and will recommend you something to use at home, probably a protein-based treatment like Kerastase Masquintense. If your hair is long, use olive oil on the ends once a week before washing out, keeps it from from drying out. If you look after highlighted hair, there's no reason it shouldn't stay in lovely condition ignores own daily Ghds misuse on highlighted hair and it's the best thing for mousey hair, wish I'd discovered this years ago, it's like turning a light on above your head

please don't use lemon juice, it's really bad for hair, dries it out much more than highlights!

Really really really, you will never look back if you just go to a salon.